Zimbabwe leader Mugabe falls, cuts head at Malaysia conference

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) -- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe fell and cut his head near the right eye during an international conference on the northern Malaysian island of Langkawi, officials said on Monday.

"The president is all right, that's all I can say," a Malaysian official told Reuters by telephone from the island, where Mugabe and businessmen from Africa and other developing states are attending the Langkawi International Dialogue.

The official declined further comment.

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Zimbabwe state media said 76-year-old Mugabe needed six stitches to close the cut, which he suffered after slipping and bumping against a rail on arrival on the island on Sunday afternoon.

"Happily, he took it in his stride and, by evening, he was able to attend a smart-partnership dinner hosted by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia," Zimbabwe Information Minister Jonathan Moyo told the official Herald newspaper.

"The physician who attended to the president indicated that the president's condition was quite stable (enough) to allow full participation in the ongoing dialogue," he added.

The Malaysian Sun newspaper reported that Mugabe slipped and fell near his suite after a downpour on Sunday evening. He was later seen with a bandage over his right eye.

Mugabe is under pressure from the opposition to quit over a deepening economic crisis blamed on his rule and to cut down on foreign travel.

His current visit to Malaysia is his 22nd trip abroad this year, equalling his 1997 personal record. He has clocked over 300 foreign trips since coming to power.

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